Fine body movements and the cardiac cycle in archery

This study examined the relationships between postural sway, aiming time, the cardiac cycle time and the placement of the first finger movement within the electrocardiac cycle, with the quality of the arrow shot. A small group of elite male and female archers who shot either the recurve or the compound bow, freestyle or bare bow was used in this study. A total of 240 arrows were shot, classified as being of good, average or bad quality and analysed in detail. The analyses were undertaken over two occasions up to 100 days apart. The area of postural sway, as measured by the movement of the centre of pressure coordinates, varied significantly (P less than 0.05-0.001) both within and between trials for all archers and for all quality of arrows shot. There was a tendency for the area of postural sway to increase as the quality of the arrow shot decreased. This increase in postural sway exceeded, for arrows of bad quality, that exhibited as normal postural sway when standing relaxed and addressing the target with the hands at the side. Aiming time was variable within the quality of arrow shot, although it was consistent for each archer. In some cases the aiming time increased as the quality of the arrow decreased, whereas in the case of bare bow archery the aiming time tended to decrease as the quality of the arrow deteriorated. The cardiac cycle time increased significantly (P less than 0.05-0.01) as the archers approached the loose of the good quality arrows but there was no significant increase in cardiac cycle time when arrows of average or bad quality were shot. The most consistent parameter related to the quality of the shot was the placement of the first finger movement within the ST phase or the mid-cycle phase of the electrocardiogram for arrows of good quality (P less than 0.0001).     

Using action,reflection and modelling (ARM) in Malaysian primary schools: connecting ‘the ARM theory’ with student teachers’ reported practice

This article presents Malaysian student teachers’ reports of using an action, reflection and modelling (ARM) pedagogical approach during their placements in Malaysian primary schools. The ARM approach was designed to support the implementation of the Malaysian primary school mathematics curriculum, which involved changing classroom practice in learning and teaching. It was developed and used during a Malaysia–UK collaborative project to construct a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree programme in Primary Mathematics for a cohort of 120 student teachers in Malaysia. The three principles integral to the ARM approach were repeatedly made explicit to the student practitioners who were engaged in learning and teaching on the new degree programme. Using findings from surveys carried out with the students at the end of their first and final placements, this article provides examples of the way some of them described ARM and recounted how they had used the approach in the classroom. Four of these narratives are used as ‘vignettes’ to illustrate the students’ perceptions of using new ways of learning and teaching in primary schools and to inform and enable a discussion of the relationship between theory and practice in teacher education.     

《哈利·波特与密室》

Harry Potter and his pals are back for their second year at Hog-warts School of Witchcraft(魔法) and Wizardry(巫术), but things get a little dicey (冒险的) when students are suddenly turned into stone and a message on the school walls proclaims the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. What can it all mean?     

Examining Hong Kong students’ achievement goals and their relations with students’ perceived classroom environment and strategy use

This study examined Hong Kong students’ achievement goals and their relations with students’ perceived classroom environment and strategy use based on the multiple goal perspective of goal orientation theory. A total of 925 Grade 8 students from six secondary schools in Hong Kong voluntarily responded to a questionnaire that measured these three sets of variables. Consistent with previous studies using goal orientation theory, the findings of this study indicated that students’ perceived classroom environment was significantly related to their personal achievement goals and strategy use. While mastery goals were found to be the strongest predictor of strategy use, performance‐approach goals and perceived instrumentality also had positive relations with mastery goals and strategy use. Our findings suggest that mastery goals and performance goals were not contrasting goals as conceptualised in normative goal orientation theory. Students with high motivation for both types of goal were more adaptive in learning than were students who pursued a single type of goal. Moreover, the value of adding perceived instrumentality when studying students’ motivation should be emphasised. The implications of these findings for understanding Hong Kong students’ motivation, and for planning effective teaching instruction to enhance their motivation, are discussed.     

Young Women and Science: do we need more science?

This article considers some of the implications of women's absence from science and technological fields at all levels of the education system. The authors consider whether the greater participation by women in scientific and technological studies would influence significantly their position in society. The discussion is placed in the context of the ‘needs of the economy’, and the question as to whether or not there is an economic ‘need’ for a workforce which has received a high level of scientific and technological training. There is an examination of the educational case for encouraging young women to study within scientific and technological fields. The authors express concern at the high status attributed to scientific knowledge, and suggest that in focusing on the issue of young women and science, some feminists are legitimising that status.     

透过传统看传统

"传统"这一术语一直是民俗学研究领域中众多关键词之一.文章对民俗学界是否剖析过"传统"及传统是否作为一个用以帮助民俗学家感知、探索和解释世界的分析性范畴进行了九个方面的探讨,分别是:作为过程和产物的传统、传统与创造性、传统:客位和主位分析、传统与现代性、民俗与传统、作为当代主题的传统、传统的驱动力、传统研究的趋向以及传统的困境.分析指出:只有当民俗学家厘清传统的运行机制时,民俗学才能成为一门"传统科学".     

Effect of string bed pattern on ball spin generation from a tennis racket

Topspin has become a vital component of modern day tennis. Ball-to-string bed and inter-string friction coefficients can affect topspin generation from a racket. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of string bed pattern on topspin generation. Tennis balls were projected onto nine head-clamped rackets with different string bed patterns. The balls were fired at 24 m/s, at an angle of 26° to the string bed normal with a backspin rate of 218 rad/s and outbound velocity, spin and angle were measured. Outbound velocity was shown to be independent of string bed pattern. Outbound angle increased with the number of cross strings, while outbound topspin decreased. In the most extreme case, decreasing the number of cross strings from 19 to 13 increased rebound topspin from 117 to 170 rad/s.     

Documenting support needs and adjustment gaps for students with disabilities: teacher practices in Australian classrooms and on national tests

Accommodations or adjustments for students with disabilities (SWDs) who need them are required in Australian education law and policy for classroom instruction and assessment, and external educational accountability tests. Drawing upon the structure of the Assessment Accommodations Checklist and more than a decade of accessibility research, the Checklist of Learning and Assessment Adjustments for Students (CLAAS) was developed to help teachers select and document adjustments that support SWDs and students with additional needs in classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests. The CLAAS was trialled with 21 primary school teachers documenting adjustments for 89 students with diverse needs. Teachers indicated that the CLAAS provided a comprehensive list of adjustments, was useful for recording adjustments across classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests, and provided guidance about potential adjustments for SWDs or with additional learning needs. The documented adjustments also indicated some considerable gaps between supports provided in classrooms compared with the Australian educational accountability tests. Findings also provided initial evidence for the reliability and validity of use of the CLAAS for its intended purposes. The CLAAS is a promising tool for helping both researchers and teachers systematically document and provide equitable and inclusive adjustments for SWDs and additional learning needs given their needs for classroom learning, assessment and external testing and examination requirements.